The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-04-24
LEPROSY IN CALIFORNIA.
Four Victims of This Dreadful Disease
Confined in a Pesthouse.
Erom Ne Snn Ntancisco Chronicle.

From the San Francisco Chronicle.
The Twenty-sixth Street Hospital, better
known as the pesthouse, contains not SIN
| gle case OF smallpox, and has not nad one
| for some time; but there are four patients
! there who are booked as being afflicted with
that most dreaded OF all diseases, Ieprosy:
! Ono Of these is James Seguye, a colored
! man, native of St Augustine. ria, VINO
bias been in the hospital since March :, 1851.
! There is some doubt about his case. When
| he went to the hospital tine SKIN was coming
oil MS hands, arms and body Ill scales,
which resembied wheat bran; but after a
! course OF treatment the scaling OFT ceased and
| the disease has made no apparent progress
snce As leprosy proper has never been
known to be affected by treatment, but puf-
sues It's march slowly yet relentleSSly, the phy-
slcians incline to the opinion that SeSuyeS
disease Is something else. However, as ne
| IS willing to remain. and as the disease IS
underlined. he is still in the hospital. He
washes The clothes Of himself and three other
patients and calls himself the Iaundryman
of the institution, declaring that he IS not
| an invalid
The other three patients arc three broth
ers-Frank, Edward and Earnest Bindt--
who have been in the hospital but short
| time, and whose cases are interesting Tor
several reasons. Their father is a white
man and their mother is native of the
| Hawaiian Islands B!ndt is at present EN-
! ployed in the Spreckle's sugar refinery, and
! frequently visits his sons. The boys, who
were born on the Sandwich Islands, would
! be taken for full-blOOded Americans. The
| family resided III the islands when the
mother was discovered to be afflicted with
the symptoms Of the disease. Bindt ex-
| pended large sums Of money III doctor1nS, as
| 1he drowning man graSpS at a straw, but III
| vain. The disease is 50 common and so
generally understood in the islands that 1t
| could not long go undetccted, and Uhe TAM
| lily came to San Francisco. Here Mrs.
! Bindt made further efforts to combat the
scourge, hoping against nope that it might
| be something else than leproSy but about
three Years ago Dr. MeaIs told her she had
the disease beyond doubt, and she had TO
choose between isolation here and return to
! Honolulu. She chose the latter, and Is now
an inmate of the leper colony at 4dolokai.
The disease showed itself sooner IN the
| second i'll age of the two boys than iii the
Others and on May II last Edward, aged 10,
was admitted to the hospital lie has q
! large patch OF the peculiar white blistered-
| looking flesh under his left eye. On Aug.
is last his two brothers, Frank, aged Il,
and Ernest, IA years old, were admitted to
| the hospital suffering from leprosy, and there
| The three are and must remain III a living
tomb, dead to the world and the world dead
TO them, decaying away with persevering
and renorseleSs dry rot; finger joints, toes
and other members dropping Off one by one
until the end comes With no hopes, aims
or ambitions, with few pleasures and the
shadow of a certain doom overshadOwing
| these few, they may be said to exist instead
of living.
Yet they are in measure cheerful. They
read the daily papers, and when visited by
q reporter were gathered around a fire with
q checker board and several story books.
Jerry Sullivan, the steward says they have
no lack of reading matter, and on pleasant
days they take exercise i'll the hospital
grounds, four or five acres in extent, play
ing various games, but sometimes" he
says, they are blue and gloomy" at which
the reporter did not marvel when he re-
mcmbered that those four white-washed
walls are the boundary of their world.
Frank and Earnest, the elder and younger
of the three and the last to enter the hos
pital, are more affected than Edward, with
| whom the disease appears TO be progressing
| more slowly. The fingers of all sthree are
| bent and twisted into various contOrtions.
while the ends of many and the joints of
some are becoming contracted. White spots
! of dead flesh appear on their bodies and
| thighs, and into these spots pin can be run
without the knowledge of the patientS-the
! spots are completely numb. By and by
pieces Of flesh viii fall off. There is no
! SiOughing, no formation of puS, no pain,
nothing but a dead, dry rot. The joint of
finger becomes contracted as though it had
been compressed by having a cord tightly
bound about it. The end OF the finger be-
comes numb and finally it drops off without
pain, soreness or bleeding. a new skin
forms over the stump Other fingers and
toes drop Off then other joints from those
which have already been shortened. The
white spots on the body swell into project
ing, bhster-ike humps, and those, too, in
! time drop OFF. It is a silent, painless, but
long drawn-out death. The only sensation
of pain the boys declare that they ever felt
III connection with the disease is an occa-
sional sting like the prick OF a needle, but
this is not very keen nor OF very long dura-
| ton.
The four lepers eat liz a room by them
selves. In another room are some specimens
| or the boys work wrought with pocket
! knives. A couple Of toy ships show skill
/ that would do credit To a practical toy
maker. They have made a rat trap which
is also cage, and whitfield croquet balls out
of wood. They are well behaved and
| obedient.